updated 04:10 pm EDT, Sat April 5, 2008

Mossberg 3G iPhone in 60d

The heavily anticipated 3G-capable iPhone will be available within the next 60 days, Wall Street Journal columnist Walt Mossberg revealed at a Beet.TV executive conference in Washington, DC. The veteran writer made the comment while discussing the limits of cellular broadband in the US, noting that third-generation access in the country is still slow compared to other areas of the world. Mossberg doesn't offer supporting evidence in the speech but is known to regularly have exclusive access to advance details, having received a review iPhone weeks ahead of its June 2007 debut.

The comments fuel growing speculation over the launch of an iPhone that supports HSPA Internet access, which is considered by many to be essential for adding more Internet-dependent features to the handset as well as offering access to Japan and other countries where 3G is the only option for phone service. A special T-Mobile Germany promotion and analyst reports have all pointed to a likely iPhone upgrade to the faster wireless technology in June.

The Journal writer also noted that he appreciated the Apple TV but that current bandwidth limits on American broadband affect potential enjoyment of the experience. HD and very long videos often require long download times before they can reliably play on most users' devices.

Very long download times?

I've rented four HD movies off of iTunes and they all became playable within 5 minutes of renting. My DSL connection is nothing special, things worked great. If you can't wait 5 minutes to start watching your movie, you need to loosen up your schedule. That's enough time to hit the restroom, and make some popcorn before the show. Perfect, if you ask me.

HD movies

The "HD" movies you are getting from iTunes are a sad excuse for HD, because their bitrate has been kneecapped enough that it WILL stream on a 4-6Mbps connection. When you compare that to the bitrate optical discs have of 28MBps (HD-DVD) and 40Mbps(Blu-ray), I really question how much detail you're missing due to the compression allowed. Sadly, until we get REAL broadband in this country, that "HD" will pass and consumers will gobble it up.

why attention to mossy?

Seriously, we all know who Mossberg is in bed with, and just how often he gets it wrong by using poor reasoning. He does a half-assed job of getting the facts, and tries to force his erroneous presuppositions on the media. It's a shame MacNN is so striped for news that they have to put his dribble up on the message boards.

really?

Quote" The "HD" movies you are getting from iTunes are a sad excuse for HD, because their bitrate has been kneecapped enough that it WILL stream on a 4-6Mbps connection. When you compare that to the bitrate optical discs have of 28MBps (HD-DVD) and 40Mbps(Blu-ray)"

I take it you're speaking from experience? The difference in quality is not as big as you may imagine. I have blu-ray, HD-DVD, Comcast cable and Apple TV. Quality of the image is better then most of the HD content on cable. This is from experience AND from comparisons online.

I've got 3Mbps service and can start watching a HD movie in less then one minute.

@danviento

"Seriously, we all know who Mossberg is in bed with," Really??
Actually I have heard him put down Apple for those things that do not meet his standards. I think the man is fair and reasonable. But then again I am not an Apple hater.

Nor am I paid by MS to put down anything positive about Apple. Maybe you trust Enderley or Dovrak to bring you the whole truth, or just their MS version of it. After all, Vista is a great OS and should be used by all. :-)

The consumer experience.

Technology is available to allow faster internet broadband speeds over cable and HSPA for cellphones but unfortunately the Telecoms in North America are trying to squeeze every penny out of the consumer. Though if they look across the ocean to countries such as England, Japan, South Korea, etc they offer lower pricing for more data allotment for each user at faster speeds. I don't understand the reasoning for rich countries such as the USA and Canada where the government hasn't seen the need to step up and regulate the Telecoms so as to stop them from ripping off the consumer. Anyway, as for the video clip Walt, makes a lot of sense in regards to these issues with the exception of commercials. I can't imagine a future where commercials are targeted to the watcher unless it's related to the show they are currently watching. Example if it's sports related then the commercials could be targeted at sports stuff. This would then keep the watcher more interested.

Re: the consumer exp

I don't understand the reasoning for rich countries such as the USA and Canada where the government hasn't seen the need to step up and regulate the Telecoms so as to stop them from ripping off the consumer.

So, you want the gov't to intervene when it pleases you, but if they try to regulate anything that affects you (or Apple, like saying that Apple's DRM should be opened up for use on other devices), you'd be blasting them for not letting the marketplace work its way out.

BTW, some would argue that gov't regulation and interference is why the US has the system it currently has, with most areas having, at most, one choice for high-speed internet.

Of course, maybe if the gov't also didn't make stupid classifications of service (so, the phone system is a voice service, but cable is a data service, and, as such, are under completely different rules.